NUGEN Audio announces advanced updates for ISL 2st and Halo Upmix

Innovative, intuitive professional audio tools creator for high-end music producers, post-production engineers, and broadcasters NUGEN Audio is proud to announce a dither update for ISL 2st — its intelligent look-ahead brick-wall limiter that provides highly-transparent true-peak limiting for all stereo and mono content — alongside a preview of a 3D Immersive Extension update allowing second and third order Ambisonic (AmbiX format) output for Halo Upmix — for fine-tuning surround mixes to perfection — at AES New York 2017, October 18-20, Jacob J. Javits Convention Center, USA…

As a stereo-only version of NUGEN Audio’s acclaimed ISL 2 — a transparent look-ahead limiter designed to allow users to get on with creative audio production while it takes care of true-peak compliance, ISL 2st allows for content creation fully compatible with loudness normalisation standards used by the likes of iTunes Radio and Spotify — superb sound with complete confidence about meeting the new standards for online delivery, in other words. World-class, broadcast-quality limiting is an essential requirement for any audio production, after all, and ISL 2st duly delivers. Risk of distortion from downstream codec conversion (mp3, AAC, etc) is effectively eliminated with ISL 2st on the master bus, so no need to second-guess sample-peak limiting time and again, or deliberately increase headroom to avoid a downstream problem. Just dial in the true-peak limit and let ISL 2st take care of the rest!

By including a unique power compensated true-peak safe dither algorithm in its latest update, NUGEN Audio has improved ISL 2st further still. Several forms of dither are available, enabling the minimisation of quantisation errors and artefacts from bit depth reduction processes. Now ISL 2st automatically compensates for the dither applied, ensuring that TPMax (maximum true-peak level) is preserved and that truepeak compliance violations are not accidentally introduced in the final output stage, as might potentially be the case when engaging traditional post-TPMax dither functions — particularly pertinent to content repurposed for streaming services, where data compression algorithms are pervasive.

Pairing ISL 2st with the latest version of NUGEN Audio’s award-winning MasterCheck Pro is a perfect combination. Recently released, v1.4 of MasterCheck Pro places FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and Opus encoding flavours in its indispensable loudness, dynamics, and codec toolset to enable mix-optimising music professionals to hear and visualise yet more popular playout encoding and loudness matching techniques increasingly in use by music streaming services such as Apple Music® and Spotify. So content can be readied for these platforms with MasterCheck Pro before being finished with ISL 2st to ensure it reaches the listener as intended.

Intriguingly, NUGEN Audio also continues to pioneer the immersive audio field with its award winning Halo Upmix for fine-tuning surround mixes to perfection — perfect for all types of production from archive restoration and TV through to the full 7.1 feature film experience — by announcing a further update to its 3D Immersive Extension, an enhanced upmix algorithm allowing for simultaneous use of all the original features including dialogue isolation and individual channel output control alongside additional vertical controls via an expanded user interface with control over Ltm and Rtm channel placement for Dolby Atmos-compatible placement. Having launched first order Ambisonic output in July — Ambisonics being a full-sphere surround sound technique covering sound sources above and below the listener in addition to the horizontal plane, the latest 3D Immersive Extension update now allows second and third order Ambisonic output, and both 7.1.4 and 5.1.4 channel configurations to facilitate production in Auro-3D formats — a three-dimensional standard used across several industries, including cinema and gaming audio. As such, VR (Virtual Reality), Facebook 360, and sound design are also all fair game for any adventurous audio engineers seeking enlightenment in immersive audio.

“Immersive audio is becoming a rare conceptual game changer that has the potential to redefine how we create and enjoy sound,” says NUGEN Audio Creative Director Jon Schorah. “These updates make sure that Halo Upmix stays on the cutting edge as engineers seek new tools and workflows to fully exploit this exciting and rapidly developing technology.”

NUGEN Audio are showcasing these latest ISL 2st and Halo Upmix advancements on Booth #5041 at AES New York 2017 — the 143rd International Convention — on October 18-20, Jacob J. Javits Convention Center, USA. Upmixing and true-peak compliance… it’s all there for the taking, whether fine-tuning surround mixes or repurposing content for streaming services.